Design Competition

The AfriCHI 2027 Design Competition invites teams to develop thoughtful, research-informed and contextually sensitive design responses to challenges and opportunities across African societies. We are looking for work that begins with people and place, takes African realities seriously, and opens up possibilities for futures shaped with dignity and agency. The competition is not limited to high-technology solutions. We welcome appropriate, accessible and imaginative designs, including digital products, services, systems, physical-digital experiences and community-led innovations, where the human-computer interaction contribution is clear. The competition is structured as a mentorship-driven journey. At least six teams will be shortlisted from the first-stage applications and supported through a three-week online mentorship phase. Teams will then submit refined, showcase-ready work. The top three teams will be invited to present at AfriCHI 2027.

Objectives

The AfriCHI 2027 Design Competition aims to:

• Support teams to develop culturally and contextually sensitive African design solutions.
• Create meaningful mentorship relationships between participants and experienced HCI, design and technology professionals.
• Help teams move from early concepts towards stronger prototypes and clearer design-to-implementation pathways.
• Encourage interdisciplinary collaboration among students, researchers, designers, UX professionals, technologists and start-ups.
• Showcase African innovation and plural perspectives within the AfriCHI community.
• Promote user-centred, ethical, accessible and sustainable approaches to design.

Categories

The competition will run as one open design challenge rather than separate tracks. This allows teams to respond to the conference theme without forcing diverse African challenges into fixed categories. Entries may address areas including, but not limited to:

• People: health and wellbeing, education, disability and accessibility, livelihoods, financial inclusion, safety, public services, civic participation and social connection.
• Place: rural and urban life, mobility, public space, agriculture, climate resilience, energy, water, housing, heritage, language, local economies and environmental sustainability.
• Possibilities: responsible AI, data-driven systems, low-tech and offline-first services, creative technologies, extended reality, speculative design, community platforms and alternative interaction models.

A submission may be a digital product, service, platform, installation, toolkit, policy-facing interface, physical-digital system, speculative prototype or another form of interactive design. Emerging technology is not a requirement. The appropriateness of the solution, the quality of the design process and the benefit to the intended community matter more than technical novelty alone.

Why join the competition?

• Present your work to the African HCI community and receive visibility at AfriCHI 2027.
• ii. Work with an experienced mentor to strengthen your concept, research, prototype and implementation thinking.
• Receive constructive feedback from reviewers and the final jury.
• Build a stronger portfolio through a clearly documented design process and prototype.
• Connect with designers, researchers, technologists, start-ups and potential collaborators.
• Access discounted conference registration as a finalist, subject to final conference and sponsorship arrangements.

Please note: Participation does not guarantee funding, incubation, commercial partnership or travel support. Any additional prize or sponsorship package will be announced separately once confirmed.

Eligibility

The competition is open to teams of three to five contributors. We particularly welcome undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers, African designers, UX professionals, start-ups and interdisciplinary teams whose work is grounded in African realities.

• Teams may be based in Africa or in the African diaspora. International collaborators may participate where the work has a clear African focus and the team demonstrates meaningful African leadership or contextual expertise.
• Cross-institutional, cross-country and cross-disciplinary teams are encouraged.
• Each team may submit one entry. A person should not be listed as a member of more than one competing team.
• Teams may submit a new idea or a clearly identified extension of existing work. Any prior development, publication, award, funding or commercial activity must be disclosed.
• The work must be suitable for development during the three-week mentorship period and must be available for presentation at the AfriCHI 2027 showcase if selected.

Important Dates

Stage	What happens	Indicative duration [2027]
Applications for mentorships	Mentors across different HCI disciplines would be sought for. Each mentor MUST have an expertise or rudimentary knowledge of HCI	8th February – 19thFebruary 2 weeks
Applications	Teams submit the online application form, team profile, motivation statement, concept idea and portfolio.	1st March – 23rd April 8 weeks
Screening and shortlisting	The committee checks eligibility and reviews submissions. At least six teams are shortlisted.	26th April – 14th May 2 weeks
Online orientation	Shortlisted teams are welcomed, briefed on expectations and paired with mentors.	1 day
Mentorship	Each team receives online support to strengthen its research, design rationale, prototype and pitch.	24th May – 11th June 3 weeks
Final review	Teams submit refined work [14th June]. Reviewers select the top three finalists.	14th June – 25th June 2 weeks
AfriCHI showcase	The top three teams present their work at AfriCHI 2027.	June 2027

Submission Requirements

Applicants should complete the online application form. Teams would be required to provide a team name, member names, roles, affiliations, countries and relevant skills. They would also be required to share their problem statement including relevance and cause of the problem, target/user group description, and idea to solve the problem with technological help including HCI elements. A design competition proposal template will be available to support the application.

Judging Criteria

The first-stage review will assess whether the team and concept are suitable for the mentorship phase. Reviewers will consider:

• Eligibility and completeness of the application.
• Clear alignment with the conference theme.
• A well-defined African context and credible understanding of the people or communities involved.
• Originality and the potential to make a distinctive contribution.
• Relevance to HCI and contemporary design practice.
• Feasibility of meaningful progress within a three-week mentorship period.
• Fit with the expertise and availability of the mentor pool.
• The team’s combined capability, motivation and openness to iteration.

Evaluation Process

Required item	Guideline
Design portfolio/report	A PDF of approximately 1,000–2,000 words, excluding references, tables and figures, and normally no more than 12 pages. It should cover the context, user or community research, insights, design decisions, iteration, evaluation, expected impact, limitations and next steps.
Prototype or proof of concept	A working or demonstrable representation appropriate to the project. This may be a clickable prototype, service blueprint, system model, interactive demo, physical-digital prototype, video walkthrough or another suitable format.
Pitch deck [Compulsory]	A PDF of no more than 10 slides that communicates the problem, context, users, evidence, solution, prototype, impact and implementation pathway.
Supplementary media	Optional supporting material, such as a captioned video of up to five minutes, research artefacts or a public demo link. Supplementary content should support, not replace, the required materials.

Contact: example@tobereplaced@org